Neymar Lauds Saudi Arabia’s Ambitious 2034 FIFA World Cup Bid and Its Vision for Football’s Future
Neymar has been impressed by the efforts of Saudi Arabia and the 2034 project to host the FIFA World Cup. After touring the Saudi 2034 bid exhibition in Riyadh in the company of the head of the bid unit, Hammad Al Balawi, the Brazilian all-time leading scorer, was wowed by the offer.
The bid includes five earmarked cities to host the World Cup for the first time in Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar, Abha, and NEOM.
Praising it as one of the best projects he has seen, Neymar went ahead to highlight the efforts that the Saudi 2034 project has made to ensure that the core needs of players and fans are met. This approach augurs well for the Brazilian and represents high regard for what Saudi Arabia are aiming to achieve in the world of football and the projected legacy of the 2034 World Cup, not just in the country but the region.
Previous World Cups have been dogged with little consideration for fan travel and the logistics involved. The Saudi 2034 project has aimed to design a tournament that will be optimal in accessibility to matches and in-match experiences while offering the best conditions possible for the players to perform at the peak of their abilities.
Saudi Arabia will also use the 2034 FIFA World Cup project to showcase the country to the rest of the world. The project is a chance for Saudi Arabia to showcase their longer-term project of growing football in the country, enhancing the competitiveness of the Saudi Pro League, and having the best talent from across the world plying their trade in the Middle Eastern country. Neymar is a representative of this ambition, and his praise of the project is a major coup as the FIFA World Cup 2034 project gathers steam.
After signing for Al Hilal in August last year, Neymar has witnessed firsthand the work going into improving the Saudi Pro League and the speed at which this improvement is occurring. Football in Saudi Arabia is rapidly growing, as highlighted by the springing up of youth training centers that support more than 300,000 boys and girls in school leagues. The result has been a shooting up of the number of registered football coaches from 700 recorded in 2019 to more than 4,000 in 2024.
Neymar believes that this investment will benefit the Saudi National team, making them competitive just in time for 2034. It will also catapult the growth of football in communities across the country and provide even more strength and edge to the Saudi Pro League.
